Four towering silver slides by Belgian artist Carsten Höller have opened as a permanent public installation at Antara, an open-air shopping and leisure complex in Mexico City. Titled Mexico City Slides (2026), the work was commissioned by Arte Abierto and Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos.
The slides range from 39 to 125 feet high and measure between 102 and 295 feet long. Visitors can ride all four at once, entering from different points across the complex, including its gardens, plaza and pedestrian promenade. Each route leads to the same exit.
Höller describes the work as an "equalizer," designed to bring participants into a shared experience. The installation continues an ongoing series of slide-based artworks that began in 1998 and has appeared at cultural venues around the world.
By bringing an interactive artwork into a public urban setting, Mexico City Slides offers a new way to encounter contemporary art in everyday life. Projects like this may help make shared city spaces more playful and participatory.
